Taiwan panics over toilet paper

Taiwanese Prime Minister Lai Qingde urged the islanders to remain calm and not to panic after reports of an imminent rise in prices on toilet paper caused an uproar in shops.

According to the Financial Times, the Taiwanese have swept toilet paper off the shelves over the weekend over expectations of a sharp rise in prices on the essential product due to the rising cost of paper worldwide.

According to China News Agency, a local e-commerce site sold 5 million toilet paper rolls within three days, which marked an increase in the demand on toilet paper by 22 times.

As a result, the Taiwan Fair Trade Commission reported that it was monitoring the situation and pledged to take necessary measures to preserve market competition and protect consumer rights.

Experts said that Taiwan lags behind other countries in terms of the share of recycled paper used for the production of toilet paper and disposable tissues.

Not that long ago, American soldiers would train their skills to counter insurgent and partisan military organizations. These days, they are trained to show resistance to the regular army of a potential adversary